New car died while on vacation - found metal filings in the transmission case.
Car made terrible grinding noise when turned steering wheel - turned out to be problem with wheel bearings.
Both problems occurred under warranty and we didn't pay anything out of pocket.
We took it in for one recall; have yet to take it in for #2.
All problems occurred while under warranty. We only had to pay the hotel bill and lost workday when the car died on our vacation. (Which is bad enough with a new car!) As soon as the warranty expires, we're selling this lemon!
All problems were fixed under warranty, but we're dumping the vehicle before its warranty expires.
There aren't many options for 7-passenger vehicles, but reliability is important. We're hoping next car would be more reliable; I was checking this site to see if other Rendezvous owners had similar problems or if we were a fluke.
Oh, I am tearing my hair out over my 2002 rendezvous. I bought my car because I put on a lot of mileage. So, my problems started at mile 43,000. I bought the car in April 2002. Something that you should be aware of is that the connectors on the harness under the car rot and the harness has to be replaced. There have been many of these repairs according to a Buick repair person, and it may become a recall. The part costs $170.73 and the labor was $450! I ran out of gas because the harness controlled the computer and my fuel gage didn't work. It took 2 times to run out of gas till I put 2 and 2 together. Also, random lights light like "change engine oil" or "check engine". OK, that was the first fiasco. The flat bed tow late at night and being without my car for 4 days. I had gotten the work done at a mechanic, not at the dealer. My mistake. I called Buick and they MAY have considered assistance, but not until the recall because I did not get it done at a Buick dealer.
Not 4 days later, my ignition locked and I could not turn the wheel. Again, I was stuck late at night and had to be towed and without my car 2 days. That was all in October at a mechanical cost of $1,000. +towing and heartache.
On 12/26 I was in a funeral procession when the car started bucking and the speedometer was not registering.
After 4 hours on the Long Island Expressway, I got flat bed towed to a Buick dealer who calls me the next day and then the following day to tell me that there are metal shavings
when he took off the pan to the transmission! I need a new transmission!!! $4500.00!!
So right now I am without my car, since 12/26. It is 12/30.I called Buick who supposedly called the dealer and MAYBE they will do something for me. Turns out, the dealer is closed from today at 4:30 until Tuesday AM 1/4! I am going to have to rent a car!
So, I am telling you, get rid of that car! I will never buy another US made car again. I am afraid to drive it.
My only hope is that Buick recalls and/or they pay up.
I am sick over this.
Our 2002 Buick Rendezvous has had problems with the remotes on steering wheel operating radio. Traction control button also indicated that for no reason it went out of traction control. Dealership put a BCM in vehicle in September 2004 and problems seemed to be gone. Now, it's January and remotes on steering are again not working radio. This problem disappears after car is stopped and restarted. It does not happen all the time.
Also, last week the odometer read "error." Technician claims two problems are not related. Are BCM, instrument cluster, and electrical harness all connected? Delafield, Wisconsin.
Yep, I have a 2002 Buick Rendezvous and at 64,000 miles the transmission went. I guess due too bad bearings. There where metal shavings everywhere. This was one big headache and I am very disapointed.
We own a 2002 rendezvous and love the ride and third seat. Also love the gas mileage 25 mpg. However, we have had problems with the AC, but had the condenser replaced under warranty. We now are hearing a bad noise when turning the wheel, like when your on a rough road sort of sound. I'm sure it is the bearings and it has 50000 miles on it so I doubt this will be covered under warranty.
I have a 2002 Buick Rendezvous and it is in the shop right now. We I took it in a year ago the hot engine light came on. The garage where I took it to told me that it was the air intake gaskets and replaced it at a cost of $650.00. Frustrated at that, I drove it for exactly one year to the month and the same thing happened. The mechanic told me that the gaskets have a bad design to it. I love my car, but hate the problems. What is my recourse? I cannot afford a new car and I am still paying for this one- two more years of this.
We had a baby and decided it was time to get a family car since our two door Cavalier was not the greatest choice for space.
We bought an as is Buick Rendezvous, which has driven this family out of our minds. It runs great... when it runs. Sometimes it will not turn on, tries to turn over, but doesn't get gas. This has been happening more frequently and we are unsure what the problem is. My guess is the connection from the fuel pump not getting gas to start up.
This problem has left our family out in the southern heat many times, including on way home from cross country in the middle of nowhere.
We bought this 2003 Buick a month ago with 54000M on it. Got any suggestions, please reply.
Same problem with my 2003 Buick Rendezvous not turning over. Sounds like it wants to start, but not getting fuel?? It has happened 3 times to me in last 3 weeks. As soon as I get it towed over the Lou Sohb Buick in Duluth GA, it starts up OK (like it needs a couple hours or jostling around to restart??) Lou Sohb Buick Service cannot recreate condition and don't know what is the problem, they don't want to fix because they don't want it to happen again and I would want money back for fuel pump or something else they might have replaced or repaired. Can top person from Buick respond to problem?
We are also owners of a 2002 Rendezvous CX. We bought it used in Guelph ON Canada in Jan./06, & have had nothing, but problems (I now know why the last owner dumped it). We paid for an expensive extended warranty, but it doesn't seem to cover anything. We were inexperienced in buying a used car & the dealer "saw us coming" I'm afraid. We kept hearing "I'll look after you- don't worry". Well, what he meant was that he would look after us until we took it off the lot!
The day we went to pick it up, it wouldn't start. They told us that it must have gotten wet when they washed it & like idiots we believed them. A couple of weeks later, while out running errands, it would not start. When we left it for an hour or so, it started right up like nothing was wrong. Since that time it's gotten more & more frequent. I'm afraid to drive it out of Guelph for fear I will be stuck somewhere. It starts fine every morning when my husband goes to work & if it sits in his parking lot all day, it will start fine to get him home. But, if I ask him to make any stops along the way home, he now leaves it running- it's happened so often. We went to the GM dealer here in town who told us that he had never heard of such a thing happening & that there were no service bulletins out for that problem.Yet, when I checked on the Internet- I found that there are thousands of us with the same problem. We then took it to a reliable mechanic who checked the entire fuel system, pressures etc. & found everything to be OK. He then changed the spark plugs. EUREKA!!! We thought we had found the problem. The car ran beautifully for 2 weeks. Now it's started all over again. On doing some more research (which I should have done before we bought it), I have found that it is likely a leak in the head gasket, & the plugs are getting wet. Great! This is somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1200. to have repaired. The A/C has never worked & likely needs a new condenser. From my research I have found that this is another common problem. We have always had GM vehicles, but ever since Magna has started building them, the quality simply is not there. More & more North Americans are switching loyalties to Japanese made vehicles & now I know why. It's very sad. My husband is a quality engineer- they need to hire him to get back on track. It's no wonder GM is in trouble- they are making a crappy product & then denying it exists. I'd love to hear from anyone with the starting problem & find out how you fixed it.
I brought a 2002 Buick Rendezvous CX with a price tag $28,000. At about 10,000 miles the car started having numerous problems that were beyond normal wear and tear repairs. At about 24,000 miles, I replaced the ABS sensor, the left front wheel speed sensor. Even after the replacement the car constantly got overheated. At about 28,000, the overheated problems still existed so I took the car to the different garage; the other wheel speed sensor was replaced. Another big repair bill. At 35,000 miles, the overheat problem happened again, the wheel speed sensor problem again, compounded with ABS sensor problem (again) and AC linkage... Although the car is about 5 year old, but the mileage at the current reading is 35,900 (warranty expired at 24,000 miles). It looks like new from the outside, but inside it is a piece of junk. So, my advice is stay away from this car.
The 2002 Rendezvous in on Consumer Report's "Used Cars to Avoid" list. Within two years, the air conditioning needed to be replaced. In year three, I needed a new radiatior and the entire traction control system had to be replaced, along with installing a new computer. In year four, the air conditioning had to be replaced again. Lemon.
We have a 2002 Buick Rendezvous... it is the most we have ever paid for a car.. and we have had the most problems with it... so here is our horror list...
Head gasket problem.. needed replacing, but of course only after warranty ran out...
Front wheel bearings needed replacing...
Fuel pump stopped working, but because the pump is in the gas tank, we had to replace both...
Air conditioner has broken down... need a new condensor...
I have had four tows in thelast year...
We are going to get rid of this lemon... and buy foreign.
Sad thing is this... my father worked for GM for 35 years, as did my uncles... I have always been a faithful North American purchaser... but never again... stay away from all GM products.
I have a 2002 Buick Rendezvous which I purchased in November 2003. Since that time I was aware of a noise at the speed of about 25 miles, but it stopped after going faster. When the mileage got to around 49000 miles the Transfer case made all kinds of noise. Taking the car to my dealer, I was informed that I needed a new transfer case. The cost was to be about 3,300.00 dollars. I talked to the dealer and inturn he talked to the District manager and it ended up costing 850.00 dollers. About two weeks later I checked the Air Conditioning and it was not working. The cost was another 850.00 dollars. About three or four months later the Gas Gauge stuck on full no mater how much gass was in it. To fixed this problem was another 300.00 plus dollars. I now have about 59000 miles on the car. Needless to say I am not happy with this car. Will I buy another Buick, not hardly.
I own a 2005 Buick Rendezvous, since I bought the car it has had many problems: the vehicle stalls in the road, the mirror motors have broken twice, the parking aid doesn't work right, the rear windshiels wiper broke, the car has problems starting, the gas gauge has never worked, with no way to fix it, and now it is in the shop for probles with the motor. This car has had problems since we drove it off the lot. I have taken it back to the dealership and they replace parts, but continues to have the same problems. I am tired of this vehicle and wish I had never bought it. Jeremy.
I bought a 2002 Rendezvous 3 years ago & I was coming home from Texas in the heat of the summer 2 years ago & the car just died on me. The gas gauge said that I had gas, but after 2 hours of waiting on a wrecker I was informed that I was dead empty. The gas gauge no longer worked! I called a mechanic to see about getting the problem fixed & I was told that it will cost me about $900.00. I also have a problem with the A/C. I can be driving down the road & it will cut out on me. After driving without air for about 2 weeks one of my kids happen to be sitting in the passenger seat up front & kicked the side of the center column towards the floor board. The A/C kicked on! So, now every time the A/C goes off I just tell them to give it a kick. These are repairs that should not cost that much at the dealership due to the fact that obviously it is a problem with this make & model. I like my Rendezvous, but I don't believe that I will ever buy another one. Carla.
We bought a 2003 Rendezvous cxl in November of 2005 and now 1 month before we have had it a year we have to be towed home because the gas gauge was reading full and I knew it wasn't full. We put gas in the car and went 40 miles and the car died, hasn't cranked back since. It has gas, but its acting like it isn't getting gas. Can anyone who has had this problem please help me. It was giving problems starting like the last month and 2 days before this happened the Check engine soon light came on. I don't know whats going on and I have been reading and don't know if I want to keep this car and go through all this. Thanks..Sharon.